Little Talks
by cudambercam13
Summary: Ziva realizes that she's angry at Tony's returned obsession with women. Song inspired: Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men (Spoilers for 10x17 Prime Suspect)
1. Chapter 1

Their most recent case was finished and everyone but Ziva had returned to the bullpen. Tony had his fun in the Bahamas and Ziva knew he could see her jealousy every time he talked about another woman. She used to be great at hiding emotions but jealousy was one she wanted him to see now. Before today it would work. She would show jealousy over Tony's flirting or compliments when it came to other women, and he'd stop because he knew it hurt her. So shy did he continue this time?

It had taken nearly an hour alone standing in the bathroom for Ziva to figure out that was the thing bothering her. Not just bothering her, it pissed her off and made her feel depressed at the same time. Of course she was the one to let the anger show more than the sadness, so she left the restroom with clenched fists.

_I don't like walking around this old and empty house, So hold my hand, I'll walk with you my dear_


	2. Chapter 2

Just as she headed out to go to the parking lot, she heard Tony call after her. She didn't stop but had no choice when he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "Hey, Ziva... Something wrong?" "Yes, something is wrong. You are keeping me from leaving." He released his unintentionally tight grip on her shoulder and took a step back. "Sorry... Do you want to talk about it?" Obviously she didn't, or she wouldn't have been in such a hurry to go home. She turned to leave again but this time he stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"Why are you taking this out on me?" The expression on his face was one of sympathy and hurt, so she knew he assumed this was about her father. "This has nothing to do with Eli, Tony. Why can't you just mind your own business? It is not like I have stopped you from going anywhere before. Why can you not just let me go home?" As she tried pushing him out of the way, he instinctively put both hands on her shoulders to keep her back. She could easily take him down if she got too angry, and he took a precaution against it and hoped for the best. He was wrong about assuming she'd finally stay put and open up to him though.

Tony wasn't new to taking a slap in the face from a woman, but with Ziva it was different. She was technically defending herself, after all, even though the slap was more out of anger than one for safety. "I told you to leave me alone Tony!" This time she did make her way past him and to her car. There wasn't anything he could do now. He could go to her place and try to calm her down, but obviously his ideas of how to make her feel comfortable were failing tonight. Tony was left with a red hand print across his cheek as he made his way back into the building.

_And some days I can't even trust myself, It's killing me to see you this way_


	3. Chapter 3

"What happened to you?" McGee asked as Tony entered the bullpen only a few minutes after leaving. "Don't wanna talk about it, Probie." … "Did Ziva slap you?" Normally Gibbs didn't get involved in their conversations or personal lives, but he knew when one agent attacked another, something was definitely out of the ordinary. "Hey, what happened?" Gibbs was standing in front of Tony's desk now, and sure as hell not making him feel any more comfortable.

"I don't know what's wrong with her boss. I didn't do anything to piss her off today, did I?" He got a blank but unamused stare from Gibbs. "You're kidding right?" McGee chimed in from behind his desk. "You were talking about that blonde nonstop earlier. Then the girls by the pool, and who knows who else. You don't think she'd be a little upset at that?"

Realization finally hit Tony, and he looked worried as ever back to Gibbs. "I, uh, think I messed up, Boss." After a headslap and grabbing his jacket, Gibbs passed by Tony's desk again as he headed out of the bullpen. "Ya think, DiNozzo?"

_There's an old voice inside my head that's holding me back, Well tell her that I miss our little talks_


	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs knocked on the door of Ziva's apartment but after getting no answer, let himself in. The door was surprisingly unlocked and when he entered, he saw why. Ziva had just got home herself and was in the middle of putting her things away.

"What, Tony could not figure out what he did wrong so he sent you to find out for him? You can tell him that I am sorry for hitting him, but he should know by now that I do not like when men put their hands on me." Gibbs was smart enough to know that Tony would never hurt Ziva, but he still didn't understand why she would go to extremes when she knew the same thing. "I got carried away, okay? I am sorry, but he should know better by now. Everything was fine, then he just started rambling about women in bikinis again. It's like he has went back to not caring!"

"When the hell did DiNozzo not care? Yeah, he should have known what was wrong with you but the point is Ziva, nothing should have been wrong with it in the first place! My rules keep things like this from happening. If you'd just follow them!"

Ziva had been facing away from Gibbs, but when he mentioned the rules she spun around looking angrier than he had ever seen her. "Don't you dare act like you care about the rules Gibbs! You did not follow them yourself! Jenny, Sam, who else!? If you know so well how I feel about Tony then why did you send me to his place instead of McGee's, or even Abby's!? That is proof enough that either you do not care about the rules, or you do not care about us! So which is it, Gibbs!?"

When Gibbs sent Ziva to stay with Tony after her father died, it really did seem like the right thing to do. But now that he thought about it, he easily could have given her the same protection by sending her home with another agent, or even keeping her overnight at NCIS. Why did it have to be Tony? Hell, McGee and Abby both had about the same skills. He could have afforded to send McGee home with Ziva, and Abby would have been happy to help out with McGee's work with all that was going on at the time.

"I'm sorry, Ziva. I didn't think about it like that. I just knew you needed someone to keep you safe, and Tony would be the first to risk his life for you, and you know that."

"See? That is proof, right there. One of your rules is 'Never Say You're Sorry', then also, still, what is the point of having me go home with Tony? If he would be the first to jump in front of a bullet to save me, you would just end up with two dead agents! Which is more important, the rules, or us!?"

"You know damn well I wasn't thinking the way you are now! And you also know that you're more important than a few damn rules, but that doesn't mean the rules aren't there for a reason! No, I don't think you and Tony would work because I've been there Ziva! Work and relationships never end well! But that doesn't mean that if you gave me a choice between sacrificing two of my best agents and one rule, that I wouldn't try to keep you there as long as I could!"

Ziva still looked upset, but sadder now. Gibbs understood where she was coming from though and nothing more needed to be said. He left her apartment and headed back to NCIS.

_Some days I don't know if I am wrong or right, Your mind is playing tricks on you my dear_


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, Boss?" Gibbs had only just made his way into the bullpen and Tony was already looking for answers. "Well what, DiNozzo? It looks like we both messed up." "Oh... So I guess your talk didn't go too well." Gibbs sighed and sat down at his desk. "Nah, it didn't. But we made our points." This time Tony stood and made his way to Gibbs' desk. Gibbs maybe didn't want to talk about their chat, but the only way Tony would know how to fix the problem was by knowing what happened. "Well, did she say anything?" "Yeah. She seems to think I care less about you and more about my rules." Countless slaps to the back of the head, some pretty nasty glares, a few harsh insults, favoritism over Abby... Everyone knew that Gibbs cared about his agents, but now with so many other things running through Tony's head, he was beginning to wonder if it was the caring that mattered when it wasn't shown.

Even if he did care for his team, did Gibbs even trust them? He didn't often share personal information with them. Even Ziva had gotten over that problem of her own and when she first came around, everyone felt like she was just as strong as Gibbs. "Well, I mean... You do have kind of a strange way of showing it, Boss. We know though."

They knew no changes needed to be made, but then what would need to be done?

_Don't listen to a word I say, The screams all sound the same_


	6. Chapter 6

With no more reason to stay at work, everyone headed their separate ways. But while Gibbs and Tony both presumably went home, McGee decided it was his turn to talk to Ziva. Besides, Tony and Gibbs only seemed to make things worse, so there wasn't anything he could do wrong now.

He showed up at her door around ten and let himself in. Ziva figured someone else would show up, but she assumed Abby would be next, trying to hold her family together as always. Ziva had got sick of waiting an hour ago and headed to bed where McGee managed to find her.

Surprisingly to him she didn't sit up with a gun when he opened her bedroom door. It was too dark to see much, but he knew she was awake and waiting for him to say something. "Hey. Umm... Can I come in?" Ziva sighed at the stupid question and got out of bed. McGee could only take a sigh of relief that she wore actual pajamas instead of sleeping lingerie.

"I have already had a talk with Tony and one with Gibbs. What makes you think yours will be any different?" He actually guessed he'd end up saying the same things as the others. He just hoped this time she'd stay calm and actually tell him. Besides, while the entire team was close, McGee wasn't as close to Ziva as Tony or Gibbs. Maybe she'd feel better opening up to someone who wouldn't take everything as personally as they did.

"To be honest, I didn't plan on talking much. Was kind of hoping you'd do that for me. Tony's upset. I've never seen Gibbs question himself like he was earlier. I'm not saying you're wrong for saying whatever you said but I know whatever you brought up needs to be fixed."

"So, what McGee, you want to castrate Tony and shred Gibbs' rule book? I do not think that would be of much help."

"How about this then. We can head over to Gibbs' place, call Tony, and just talk. Obviously it's become a group problem, so that's the only way we'll be able to fix it. If you still want to castrate Tony after that then I won't stop you."

Tony and Gibbs both got yelled at when they tried talking to Ziva, but McGee was getting smiled at instead. "There is one problem, McGee. Even I do not know what needs to be done here. Even if they are willing to change, there are some things that just come with them. You cannot change your entire personality in one night."

"Well, you're doing a pretty good job with me so why not give it a shot?" Ziva nodded and disappeared back into her bedroom to get dressed.

_Now wait, wait, wait for me, Please hang around_


	7. Chapter 7

McGee went ahead and drove Ziva to Gibbs' house before Tony had a chance to arrive. Gibbs was still up working on something in the basement when Tim and Ziva entered. "You know this could've waited 'til tomorrow," he said as Tim and Ziva both headed downstairs.

"Sorry, Boss. My fault." Ziva clenched her jaw shut at another rule being ignored, but she didn't say anything about it. They all stood in silence aside from Gibbs' sanding until Tony finally made his way down the stairs as well. He had expected Ziva to be here but at the same time, he couldn't imagine anything good coming from her after what happened earlier.

"Family meeting, huh?" Ziva turned around to see him, but they didn't exchange any words yet. She and McGee both knew some things wouldn't be said with everyone present. This 'family meeting' was more Ziva's way of avoiding it for as long as she could.

"I wanted to say that I am not happy with how I acted. Toward either of you. Gibbs, I know you have your rules for a reason, and I know you care about me. And Tony... I should not have hit you and I should not have expected you to change after eight years." "What do you mean by that?"

Tony was definitely ready for a chat with Ziva but McGee stood between them to keep it from happening yet. "Hey, hey! Gibbs first, then Tony! Okay?" Ziva sighed and looked at Tony over Tim's shoulder before she turned back around to Gibbs. "Ya know, you don't have to say anything Ziva. I messed up and I get it. You might not like the rules but there's never been consequences for not following them. Hell, following some of them can get you in more trouble than not following them. You don't need to apologize for anything."

"Gibbs, I do. Your rule says to never say you are sorry because it is a sign of weakness... but it's not. Apologizing shows that you are courageous enough to admit when you were wrong. You only added the sign of weakness rule to avoid admitting your mistakes. I do not want that rule used around me."

Gibbs nodded and stopped sanding for a moment to look back at his agents. "Well then, I guess we can work on what rules to fix as they come along." While Ziva sighed, Tony held his breath. They both knew which rule he was referring to by saying that, but neither of them wanted to admit it. "Well, I'm glad that's settled. Are we allowed to talk now, McGee?" Tony said and took Ziva's arm as he led her up the stairs and outside.

He took her all the way to his car before stopping for their talk. "What did you mean you shouldn't have expected me to change?" Ziva shrugged. "I cannot expect your entire personality to change just for me, can I?" She saw him gulp and knew he was just as uncomfortable as she was. The only difference was he wasn't as good at hiding it.

"You think womanizing sums up my entire personality? You should know better than anyone that there's more to me than just that, Ziva! And you're right, I can't change my entire personality for you, but I didn't think you wanted me to. You sure seem fine with it when the woman I'm complimenting is you!"

They remained silent for nearly a minute before Ziva worked up the courage to respond. "I do not want you to change yourself. But you know the things that bother me, and I expect you to not push them. Is that too much to ask?"

Tony shook his head and looked around for any sort of distraction from the moment they were having. While it didn't usually work for him, it did now, and possibly for the best. "Your car isn't here... You want me to drive you home?"

_I'll see you when I fall asleep..._


End file.
